Edmund Rice Justice Bulletin

British Prime Minister, David Cameron has announced that both tax avoidance and transparency will be priority issues for action at next year’s G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, which he will chair.

Whilst the announcement was welcomed by Christian Aid which has long campaigned for Tax Justice and to End Tax Haven Secrecy it is also urging the UK government to abandon its “shoddy” tax deal with Switzerland, after the upper house of the German Parliament struck down its own similar treaty with Switzerland.

According to Christian Aid spokesman Joseph Stead “To collect the taxes they are owed, poor countries need the Swiss to tell their tax authorities who has money in their banks. That will help them catch up with tax evaders, bribe-takers and others with money to hide.”

Christian Aid argued that Cameron's “dirty deal” with Switzerland preserves financial secrecy, harming the UK and the rest of the world.

Meanwhile Global Financial Integrity has issued its latest report "Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries 2001-2010" which draws attention to the issue of the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion–leaving the developing world whilst Transparency International  has published its 2012 Corruption Perceptions index which measures the perceived level of public sector corruption around the world. Denmark emerged as being perceived as the world's least corrupt country. Visit the Transparency International website to see where your country is ranked.